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Wassailing celebrations get underway at North Wootton in Somerset on January 19, 2023. The tradition of wassailing refers to the ancient custom of visiting orchards in cider-producing regions of England, reciting incantations and singing to the trees to promote a good harvest for the coming year. The purpose of wassailing is to awake the cider apple trees and to scare away evil spirits to ensure a good harvest of fruit. This picture shows a 1880's London Fowling shotgund fired in the air that was later used to fire into the canopy of an apple tree to frighten away evil spirits. (Photo by Jason Bryant/Apex News)
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